France convicts actor Gerard Depardieu for sexually assaulting two women

Depardieu is enactment connected the enactment offenders database and receives a suspended condemnation for groping the women connected a movie set.

A French tribunal has handed down an 18-month suspended condemnation to histrion Gerard Depardieu aft uncovering him blameworthy of sexually assaulting 2 women connected a movie acceptable successful 2021.

The Paris tribunal announced connected Tuesday greeting that Depardieu, the 76-year-old who did not be tribunal for the verdict, would beryllium placed connected the enactment offenders list.

In 1 of the country’s highest-profile Me Too cases, Depardieu, a salient fig of French cinema who has acted successful much than 200 films and tv series, has repeatedly denied immoderate wrongdoing.

The proceedings relates to charges of intersexual battle during the filming successful 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) directed by Jean Becker.

One of the 2 plaintiffs, Amelie K, a 54-year-old acceptable decorator, told the tribunal that Depardieu had groped her arsenic helium trapped her betwixt his legs and made explicit intersexual comments.

“He touched everything, including my breasts,” she said, adding: “I was terrified, helium was laughing.”

The 2nd witness, a 34-year-old adjunct manager who was unnamed, said Depardieu initially assaulted her erstwhile she accompanied him from his dressing country to the set.

“It was nighttime … helium enactment his manus connected my buttocks,” she said, adding that the histrion assaulted her connected 2 different occasions.

Plaintiff Amelie K reacts arsenic she speaks to members of the media astatine the court, aft the condemnation of French histrion Gerard Depardieu of intersexual battle of 2 women successful Paris, France [Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters]

Judge Thierry Donard said the actor’s mentation of the events had been unconvincing.

“I’m vulgar, rude, foul-mouthed, I’ll judge that,” Depardieu told the court, but added: “I don’t touch.”

“I adore women and femininity,” helium besides said, describing the Me Too question arsenic a “reign of terror”.

Depardieu besides argued earlier the tribunal that helium did not see placing a manus connected a person’s bottommost to beryllium intersexual battle and that immoderate women were excessively easy shocked.

Amelie K’s lawyer described Tuesday’s ruling arsenic a “beautiful decision” that gave designation to Depardieu’s victims.

After the sentencing, Depardieu’s lawyer said they would entreaty the tribunal decision.

In caller years, the French histrion has faced a increasing fig of intersexual battle allegations, with astir 20 women coming guardant with accusations, but this lawsuit was the archetypal to spell to court.

The Me Too question came to prominence successful 2017 for radical to stock their experiences of intersexual maltreatment and intersexual harassment by influential figures.